Cheyenne Police Report 420 Pot Arrests Last Year

Despite the legalization of marijuana in Colorado several years ago, statistics from the Cheyenne Police Department aren't showing a big increase in weed arrests for the last two years for which final numbers are available.

Chief Brian Kozak says he ran the numbers recently and found his department arrested 400 people for marijuana in 2014. That number went up by 20 people last year, bringing the total to, believe it or not, 420 arrests.

The chief himself laughed when announcing the 2015 arrest total, adding "I'm not making that up."

He says many people expected to see a bigger increase in local marijuana arrests when Colorado a few years ago, but in fact, the same people who were smoking pot in Wyoming a few years ago are continuing to do so.

As he puts it people in Wyoming didn't suddenly wake up and say '' hey it's legal in Colorado, I'm going to go smoke me a bowl."

But the chief says, even so, he is concerned that legalization is sending a message to young people that pot is ok or even beneficial. He says annual surveys in local schools show a growing acceptance of marijuana. Kozak says as that group of young people grow up he's concerned marijuana usage will increase.